Friday, June 18, 2010

How do I treat thrush?

The most common drug used to treat oral thrush is nystatin oral solution. This is a medication that can be prescribed by a healthcare provider. The most common dose is 4-6 ml every 6 hours for 1-2 weeks.

To give the medicine you need to draw it into the syringe. ( A pharmacist can show you how to do this.) Squirt half of the amount onto one side of your baby's cheek and the rest on the other side. It tastes pretty good and most babies take it pretty well.

You may need to do this for up to 2 weeks to completely cure it. You also need to boil all bottles, pacifiers, cups or anything else that goes into your baby's mouth regularly. I often see bottlefed babies with thrush who have been drinking out of bottles that were only washed with hot water. The best way to clean your bottles is in the dishwasher but if you don't have one you can use hot water and dish soap. I would boil your bottles at least once per day if you are not using a dishwasher.

Thrush can be very difficult to get rid of but the key is to treat the baby and clean everything that goes in baby's mouth.

Breastfed babies can get thrush too. Next we will talk about how to get rid of thrush in a breastfed baby. Stay tuned!

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About Me

I am a family nurse practitioner practicing in New York State. I have experience in pediatric and adult emergency medicine, family practice, general medicine/surgery, and neonatal ICU.
This blog is your place to ask those burning health questions. So much of health care is rushed these days and patients don't always feel like they have the chance to get the answers they need before their provider has to move onto the next patient. This is your chance.